Data Center Census

Becker, Sherburne County, MN

Amazon Becker Data Center

Also known as AWS Becker, Amazon Data Services Becker

PausedAmazon suspended development in May 2025 and says it will keep the land; the site was still vacant as of September 2025.
  1. Rumored
  2. Proposed
  3. Approved
  4. Under construction
  5. Operating
  6. Paused

Amazon Data Services bought a roughly 348-acre site next to Xcel Energy's Sherco coal plant in Becker, closing on October 30, 2024, for a planned data center. In February 2025, state regulators ruled that its plan for about 250 diesel backup generators needed a Certificate of Need; the data center’s expected peak daily load was 600 MW. Amazon suspended the project in May 2025 while state lawmakers debated data center tax breaks, and said it would keep the property.

Key facts

Size & schedule

Planned capacity600 MW [2]
expected peak daily load
Site size348 acres [1]
site purchased for $73.56 million
Permanent jobs (promised)100 [1]
Construction jobs1,200 [1]
building trade jobs

Power

UtilityXcel Energy [1]
statement by Xcel spokesman Kevin Coss
Source excerpt
“As the electric provider for the area, we will be engaged in the site development process and providing the electricity needed to reliably power the site once operational.”
Power supplyAbout 250 Tier 4 diesel backup generators (250 kW to 2.75 MW each) proposed [2]
Utility commission caseMinnesota PUC Docket No. PT7151/CN-24-435 [5]
Certificate of Need proceeding for backup generators
Source excerpt
“Docket No. PT7151/CN-24-435”

Figures are as stated by the cited source. Where sources disagree, each figure is shown.

Timeline

  1. Elk River Technologies buys the site from Xcel Energy for $7.97 million [1]

  2. Amazon Data Services closes on the 348-acre site for $73.56 million [1]

  3. Amazon asks the Minnesota PUC to exempt its backup generators from Certificate of Need requirements (Docket PT7151/CN-24-435) [5]

  4. Minnesota PUC rules the backup generators require a Certificate of Need [2]

  5. Amazon says it is suspending its development activities in Minnesota but will keep the property [3]

Issues raised

  • Opponents objected to the environmental review of about 250 diesel backup generators; CURE argued the 600 MW plan was twelve times the Certificate of Need threshold [5]
  • City officials said the pause was a blow: the project would have nearly replaced about $5 million a year in Sherco tax revenue, roughly 40% of the school district's local tax income [4]
  • Amazon cited 'uncertainty' as state lawmakers debated repealing a sales tax break on data center electricity [3]

Sources

  1. Amazon Data Services buys site slated for data center near Sherco in Becker
    Minnesota Star Tribune · Nov 13, 2024 · news
  2. Minnesota Regulators Rule That Certificate of Need is Required for Backup Generators at Data Center
    American Public Power Association · Mar 8, 2025 · news
  3. Amazon pulls back on plans for large data center in Becker
    MPR News · May 23, 2025 · news
  4. Amazon's retreat from its planned Minnesota data center is latest 'gut punch' for Becker
    Minnesota Star Tribune · Sep 9, 2025 · news
  5. Initial Comments of CURE regarding Amazon Data Services, Inc.'s Petition for Exemption from Certificate of Need Requirements
    CURE · Jan 31, 2025 · other
  6. Amazon Web Services suspends plans for Minnesota data center
    DatacenterDynamics · May 28, 2025 · news